William Donald Schaefer, 1987 to 1995

Jed Kirschbaum, Baltimore Sun

The four-time consecutive Democratic Baltimore mayor, William Donald Schaefer, who was elected governor in 1986, was a figure of almost mythic proportions. His quirky and irascible personality gave him a national presence. The Inner Harbor project, National Aquarium, and his focus on improving education and the lives of the less fortunate were some of the marks he left on his beloved Baltimore, as well as his sparking the city's renaissance. In a political career that spanned more than 50 years, he had been city council president, council member, mayor, governor and comptroller of the treasury. During his time as governor, he could point to the building of Camden Yards and the Central Light Rail Line from Hunt Valley to Glen Burnie. Other major issues he had to deal with were unemployment, Chesapeake Bay pollution and pushing for higher educational goals for public schools. Schaefer, who was born in Baltimore and raised on Edgewood Street, was a 1939 graduate of City College and earned his law degree in 1942 and a master of law degree in 1954 from the University of Baltimore in 1942. He served in the Army during World War II. Schaefer, who died in 2011, is buried in Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.

The four-time consecutive Democratic Baltimore mayor, William Donald Schaefer, who was elected governor in 1986, was a figure of almost mythic proportions. His quirky and irascible personality gave him a national presence. The Inner Harbor project, National Aquarium, and his focus on improving education and the lives of the less fortunate were some of the marks he left on his beloved Baltimore, as well as his sparking the city's renaissance. In a political career that spanned more than 50 years, he had been city council president, council member, mayor, governor and comptroller of the treasury. During his time as governor, he could point to the building of Camden Yards and the Central Light Rail Line from Hunt Valley to Glen Burnie. Other major issues he had to deal with were unemployment, Chesapeake Bay pollution and pushing for higher educational goals for public schools. Schaefer, who was born in Baltimore and raised on Edgewood Street, was a 1939 graduate of City College and earned his law degree in 1942 and a master of law degree in 1954 from the University of Baltimore in 1942. He served in the Army during World War II. Schaefer, who died in 2011, is buried in Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium. (Jed Kirschbaum, Baltimore Sun)

The four-time consecutive Democratic Baltimore mayor, William Donald Schaefer, who was elected governor in 1986, was a figure of almost mythic proportions. His quirky and irascible personality gave him a national presence. The Inner Harbor project, National Aquarium, and his focus on improving education and the lives of the less fortunate were some of the marks he left on his beloved Baltimore, as well as his sparking the city's renaissance. In a political career that spanned more than 50 years, he had been city council president, council member, mayor, governor and comptroller of the treasury. During his time as governor, he could point to the building of Camden Yards and the Central Light Rail Line from Hunt Valley to Glen Burnie. Other major issues he had to deal with were unemployment, Chesapeake Bay pollution and pushing for higher educational goals for public schools. Schaefer, who was born in Baltimore and raised on Edgewood Street, was a 1939 graduate of City College and earned his law degree in 1942 and a master of law degree in 1954 from the University of Baltimore in 1942. He served in the Army during World War II. Schaefer, who died in 2011, is buried in Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.